


sunshine of your love

by stan



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Fluff, M/M, Pining, and i still believe emo will be back, chanhwan make an appearance as always, listen i watched sing street, so you can only imagine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 02:32:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14781999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stan/pseuds/stan
Summary: bobby's lyrics are the inspiration to junhwe's poetry. and vice-versa.





	sunshine of your love

**Author's Note:**

> once again, every word and every comma is **eloisa's**.

junhwe writes. he writes because he loves to play with words, because he loves to convey feelings, because he loves metaphors and antithesis, because he loves to understand himself.

basically, junhwe writes because he loves.

he loves a boy who is too cool for him, older than him, the best boy in the world for him. jiwon is a senior, a bassist and a member of junhwe’s favorite band. he’s in his friend group too, thanks to yunhyeong (and also to his best friend for going out with the vocalist) and he couldn’t be more whipped.

the bassist works a part time job at junhwe’s favorite cd store and their encounters always get awkward — at least on his part — after junhwe spots chanwoo a few rows back putting his finger down his throat in an attempt of fake vomiting, rolling his eyes at junhwe’s heart shaped ones.

but he can’t help it that jiwon is so captivating.

junhwe’s whipped about the boy’s ideas, talent and personality. he could hear jiwon talking about his dreams or criticizing society all day long, not only because he agrees with everything but also because he could stare at him for as long as possible. jiwon is handsome, and junhwe wants him to know.

so he writes.

he writes about the rain, about the ocean, about loneliness and about the sky and diamonds. and as the night gets dark, he enjoys the silence until the scrap of the vinyl starts a fire in his heart, and junhwe writes about the boy amidst with all his best words.

he pays extra attention to his ideas, not wanting to miss a thing, writing word by word in a beautiful paper. he writes poems he’s proud of, but he never signs any of them.

and the reason for that is simple: his feelings are elaborate, but also shy. they reach their limit when they find their place at jiwon’s locker, jiwon’s backpack, jiwon’s desk, but they can’t talk any more than that. so they hide at anonymity, just to be safe.

chanwoo knows about this, but only because he caught junhwe slipping an envelope into jiwon’s locker, and junhwe wasn’t able to say a simple “i’m not in love”. he doesn’t mind because they’ve been best friends ever since they discovered a mutual interest in bands that no one in their school listened to.

(at first, junhwe thought chanwoo was just a music snob and a rock band elitist. now he’s certain of it, but he doesn’t consider it a problem because the boy is too funny and always gets tickets to the best gigs in the city).

and he also doesn’t mind because their friendship gives him the right to beat the shit out of chanwoo when he kicks junhwe’s leg under the cafeteria table whenever jiwon mentions his secret admirer.

jiwon loves the poems, talking about them constantly and praising the anonymous writer for his talent. junhwe loves the compliments, but also doesn’t want jiwon to ever find out the owner of such beautiful words because he wants to avoid a potential heartbreak situation.

so he listens.

he listens when they’re at the roof of hanbin’s house after a party, running away from their drunk friends, and jiwon decides to talk about the poetry gifts he gets. as the stars shine for them, jiwon talks about his favorite words and how he wishes to be as inspired as the person who writes to him, so he can also write for his band.

junhwe smiles because little does jiwon know that his lyrics are also the inspiration to junhwe’s poems. so he reassures the older boy that he’s doing a great job, and that he loves his lyrics.

he listens because he wants to write.

both actions out of love.

\---

days go by slowly, just like the tempo of his favorite songs. that’s what happens when junhwe has something to do at the end of the week. he gets stuck in a moment he can’t get out of.

on monday, junhwe barely has time to talk to jiwon. their group of friends is too busy writing papers and spending lunch time at the library. he also forgets to put his poem inside jiwon’s locker, and he thinks that’s a sign. times like these are difficult, so it’s not a good day.

on the other hand, tuesday’s highlight is when jiwon winks at junhwe. his heart almost stops beating.

wednesday passes by without incident, and he meets jiwon at the cd store to talk about the month’s new releases and to spend all of his money on fresh new albums. most of his purchases are jiwon’s recommendations, because he’s in love and can’t say no.

on a misterious thursday, junhwe ignores the shadow on the corner of the hallway, making the mistake of not looking back to double check his surroundings. he sends jiwon his best poem, spending extra time in front of the older boy’s locker to find the best sticker to go with his envelope. he leaves, and someone sighs.

finally, on friday, he punches a guy from his biology class after being called a pussy for refusing to dissect a frog, and gets suspended right away. he doesn’t regret it, not even when his mom grounds him for the weekend, because everyone knows he’s right.

it’s the day he’s waiting for the most, so he is glad to be home earlier than expected. he goes to his room, lays down and hugs his blue bolster, planning the outfit for the night.

junhwe just wishes jiwon was there to see him punching a guy, knowing the scene probably looked super cool.

however, all the band members skipped school in order to practice before their gig on that same night. they didn’t usually call out practices this close to an event, normally sleeping for as long as they could, but the bassist said it was an emergency and everyone complied.

he misses jiwon and can’t wait to see him live.

junhwe wonders how jiwon does it, making him feel like he does. he doesn’t understand, but appreciates the inspiration nonetheless.

\---

the night feels too hot even if the windows are open and junhwe’s record player is way too loud for his parents to realize what he’s up to, the boy planning to be at least three blocks away if they ever hear the thump of a body falling from the rooftop directly to its freedom.

for a moment, he regrets landing a punch on a stranger’s face when he notices it’s hard getting a good grip on the edge of his window with his brand new split knuckles, but he’s a sucker for standing up for himself.

even so, just seconds later junhwe gets another bruise for falling on his knees on the yard, swearing quietly as he wipes the dust out of what appears to be a new pair of ripped jeans.

it’s a can’t stay at home, can’t stay at school kind of day. and since junhwe has plans of attending the best gig of his life, he goes out.

he manages to walk the three blocks he planned, celebrating with a silly dance just as he spots his best friend running down the street to meet him at their usual spot.

“nice jacket.”

“thanks, bro” chanwoo replies. “i finally patched it, you need to give me yours one day.”

junhwe agrees to lend him another one of his black coats and the younger boy is quick to change subjects to complain about jiwon’s sudden practice and how much he misses jinhwan.

the couple was supposed to have the afternoon to themselves under the bleachers, but their plans got ruined, and jinhwan didn’t even text him back all day. chanwoo keeps compaining nonstop, but junhwe doesn’t care, his focus completely on the fact that he’s going to enjoy a nice gig of his favorite band.

he couldn’t be happier. he also couldn’t be more proud.

not many local bands get to actually hold gigs where they live, being used only to open concerts for another bigger acts from other states. and jiwon’s band, despite being fairly new, already made an impact in their music scene.

junhwe knows they are his favorite for a reason. and chanwoo insists that junhwe’s opinion is biased and that he only digs them that much because he has a massive boner for jiwon.

chanwoo is not wrong, but it’s not like he’s not also biased himself.

they talk about their expectations for the night and junhwe is listing the bands he patched on one of his older jackets when donghyuk greets them at the venue’s gates. he lives nearby but goes to a different school and is always working whenever there’s a gig. the boy is fun and he pretends to believe the age on their ids, getting a few drinks delivered to him in return later the night. it’s only fair.

the place is crowded and junhwe makes his way to the bar, ordering two beers and asking the barista to put donghyuk’s drinks on his and chanwoo’s tab. he opens a can and throws his friend the other one, finding a spot near the wall to watch the concert with a full view of the stage.

“we’d look cooler if we were smoking,” chanwoo says in the middle of a laugh, voice almost muffled by the music.

“and we’d also be dead in a few years, so no thanks.” ironically, junhwe takes a long sip of his beer after that.

“i’m not saying we should do it, it’s just a remark about our aesthetic,” chanwoo punches him on the shoulder.

junhwe takes his hand out of his pocket and waves it on chanwoo’s face.

“i already have a pretty nice aesthetic. i have bruised knuckles because i am so hardcore.” he gives his friend a wink.

“bruised knuckles that got you grounded,” chanwoo puts a hand over his heart, “you’re so badass, my hero!”

“shut up!” junhwe laughs at chanwoo’s dreamy face.

chanwoo does in fact shut up as the music stops and the crowd starts cheering. the lights fade out and it’s quiet for a brief second, enough for junhwe to hear his own heart thumping in anticipation for the ones about to hit the stage.

he hears the distinctive sound of drumsticks hitting each other four times and the lights are back on, getting junhwe absolutely hypnotized.

his favorite band is amazing, musically speaking, of course, but also aesthetically speaking. they sounded and looked great.

and if this was anyone else, junhwe would say the half black and half white hair, paired with the aviator goggles on top of it were a bit too much, but when it’s jiwon he just thinks the boy is the single hottest person he’s ever seen.

jiwon is wearing a black tank top and junhwe eyes are locked on jiwon’s muscles flexing as he plays a dark red bass covered in dumb stickers, wanting to feel his fingers that are already calloused by the strings.  

he also loves the way the bassist’s mouth looks closer to his microphone when he leans in to sing a part of the chorus, his husky voice making junhwe’s throat go dry.

he manages to sing along to a few songs, giving two thumbs up when jinhwan looks in their direction. the vocalist has a little bit of a glam vibe, always too sensual on stage or, as chanwoo once described perfectly, he looks like he’s making out with the microphone stand when he’s singing.

it’s true and they both agree that the band couldn’t get a better front man.

to be honest, the band couldn’t get any better in any aspect. they are intense, born to be on stage.

junhwe loves every aspect of music because he relies a lot on it. and he loves concerts because he get to absorb every detail possible about a band. for him, this is a moment of raw passion, when you get to watch harmony and cohesion up close, straight from the members and not only their instruments.

it’s powerful, and he lives for the feeling he gets at moments like this, when the energy from the band and the crowd lights up something in his heart.

but mostly, above everything else, junhwe listens carefully to lyrics. it’s his favorite part about music, the glue that keeps everyone together, that creates the possibility of people to relate or create.

he loves it more than anything.

chanwoo says the reason junhwe is so invested in the lyrics i because he likes to write mushy poetry, and he can’t even deny it. he has his favorite lyrics written all over his notebooks and bases all his futures tattoos on them, whenever he finds a new meaning to the words.

so he listens to every word that comes out of jinhwan’s mouth, paying extra attention because he knows these words are jiwon’s. he loves to listen because he knows the reason behind every lyric,which feelings the older boy faked and which ones were absolutely real. 

the memories of jiwon drunk explaining him what got into his mind to write something is able to create another layer of connection to the song. he feels special, and it gives him the power to listen to every song with his heart.

as he daydreams about jiwon, they make eye contact and junhwe wonders if he’s obvious about his feelings as they seem really loud. he has eyes only for the older boy, and the venue is his alone.

the band plays a few of his favorites — that obviously aren’t the most famous ones —, energy up from start to finish, and wraps up with their biggest hit song. the crowd is wild and junhwe gets a rush of pride at his chest when they come back for one very requested last song.

he looks at yunhyeong, the rhythm guitarist who has the most groupies, and the boy is biting down a laugh as he looks at hyuna from across the stage. the girl was the last one to join the band after hanbin saw her playing guitar on campus. she is fierce, which is very convenient since she’s the only girl in the band, and has this aura that she knows when the world is going to end and how.

he’s going to ask her one day.

jinhwan looks at jiwon and the boy nods back, leading hanbin to count to four with his drumsticks. there’s a different vibe on stage and junhwe doesn’t get it.

the beat is slow and junhwe is sure he has never heard it before. and that’s saying a lot, because he knows all of their songs, demos and projects included. he’s a big fan, and he can’t believe he’s getting the opportunity to listen to a new song, right in front of him.

and then jinhwan starts singing. he talks about younger boys that have a burning passion for something, about deep talks late at night and summer romances that last all year long.

it’s good and junhwe is digging all of it, even taking a moment to look around and check everyone’s positive reactions to the news. he’s not alone in his excitement, watching  from the corner of his eye as chanwoo’s smile forms a dimple.

and when the chorus comes, jinhwan and jiwon harmonize almost heavenly, only to sing junhwe’s latest poem right back at him.

as junhwe recognizes his words, his world stops, getting rid of everything that isn’t jiwon on stage and the feeling of tears behind his eyes.

his favorite band has a song with his poetry in it.

junhwe’s heart is beating so loud that he’s is afraid it’s going to steal the song’s attention as it pumps in his ears. his knees get weak and his palms get sweaty and he’s probably going to faint at any moment.

jiwon really thought his words were song worthy. junhwe inspired him. anonymously, he inspired his crush to write the most beautiful song in the world.

jiwon made his poetry _better_. more than words, the bassist completed his poetry with the feelings that were missing from the time he wrote them.

junhwe wants to scream for the entire world to know how much he loves jiwon, but he’s afraid that someone will hear him.

so he swallows his words, that barely get trapped on the lump that has formed on his throat.

he’s never seen jiwon so active on vocals before and he just knows this is the best song that he’s ever listened to.  there’s no way, in any universe, that someone made a song that is filled with more emotions than this one.

the song ends, jinhwan thanks everyone and the band leaves the stage. at this moment junhwe finds himself completely breathless even if he didn’t sing a word, as if the song took his breath away.

the experience makes junhwe feel brand new.

when the boy finally comes back to his senses everyone is heading to the bar and chanwoo is staring at him quietly. funny enough, he recognizes the upbeat instrumental of friday i’m in love playing at the speakers and the spell is momentaneously broken.

“what?” junhwe’s voice is loud and his tone is very much confused.

chanwoo leans in, his eyes always knowing too much, nodding slowly and gesturing his hands for junhwe to keep talking.

when he doesn’t, chanwoo blurts out. “the song is about you, you fucking idiot!”

junhwe’s eyes almost pop out of his head and he chokes on nothing, coughing while chanwoo laughs out loud, almost folding himself in half.

“how do you know it’s about me?” junhwe is breathless. it’s not like he sends every poem he writes to his best friend, even less the ones about jiwon. there’s no way he knew about it.

“he couldn’t stop looking at you!” chanwoo waves his arms, exasperated, “the song is about a younger boy, conversations and being in love! and he couldn’t. take. his. eyes. off. you.” the boy punctuates every word for emphasis, as if junhwe was dumb. and he really thought so.

“chanwoo,” junhwe puts an arm on his friends shoulder, staring at his eyes intensely, “the chorus. it’s my latest poem. the last i put on jiwon’s locker. it’s mine,” he’s so excited that he barely finds his connectives, sentences all sparse.

“then what are you waiting for? go talk to him!” chanwoo holds junhwe’s arms, ready to drag him outside, but junhwe stops on his tracks.

“but i don’t know what to say!” junhwe curses his voice for turning high pitched against his will and he feels himself blush even more.  “he probably doesn’t know it’s mine!”

“do i need to mention his heart shaped eyes again? he was staring at you through the entire song, for fucks sake,” chanwoo grabs junhwe by the shoulders and shakes him lightly. “so go talk to him, you loser, even if it’s just to ask him for credits, i don’t know.”

even if he wanted to say no, there is no use to it because chanwoo is already pushing him out of the door. he manages to yell at his friend to remind him to pay for donghyuk’s drinks before he’s completely outside and lost, reaching for his phone and thinking about what to do.

conveniently enough, that’s when he hears the sound of a door opening in the alley next to him, a few voices mashed together with laughter. he recognizes hyuna’s velvet voice ordering people around and that’s his cue to approach jiwon.

the light of the backstage is illuminating the alley and all chattering comes to an end as soon as they spot junhwe at the entrance, hands inside his jacket’s pockets and looking down at his combat boots. jiwon is holding the door open, no longer wearing his goggles, and leaving space for hanbin to put all of his drum cases outside.

the drummer stops what he’s doing when jinhwan suggests his band mates go back inside, extending his stay outside for a little longer, looking back and forth at the two of them with a smile before also heading inside.

the door closes and their main source of light disappears, forcing the boys to rely on a weak street lamp and junhwe is glad he has jiwon’s features memorized. the muffled sound of aerosmith’s jaded coming from inside of the bar gets disrupted by yunhyeong’s voice begging for them to _please say something before everyone dies of boredom_.

jiwon chuckles.

“so…” the bassist starts, but gets interrupted.

“congratulations on your gig, you guys sounded amazing.” junhwe says in a hurry , just to cover the silence and instantly wants to punch himself for not going straight to the point.

“thanks…” the older boy kicks a small rock on the street, his head not low enough so junhwe is able to notice a hint of a smile there.

that’s the first time junhwe sees jiwon struggling to find something to say. he’s usually in charge of leading their conversations because junhwe is a stupid boy that is too afraid to embarrass himself in front of his crush, so this whole situation is very unusual and he wants to throw up the butterflies in his stomach.

“did you… enjoy all of the songs?” jiwon asks, a hint of hope in his low voice.

“i did,” he nods. “specially the last one. i think i heard it before, you know.” junhwe crosses his fingers inside his pocket, wishing for jiwon to take his lead.

the bassist’s shoulders relax at his statement and he looks up, releasing a weak laugh. ‘ _he’s shy_ ,’ junhwe realizes, and almost starts jumping at the spot much to his embarrassment. he can’t believe he just made kim jiwon, the coolest person he’s ever known, all shy with his presence. a stream of confidence runs through his body.  

“is it true, jiwon?” junhwe furrows his eyebrows.

“what is true?”

“the lyrics. that they are about me. the feeling. is everything true?“

junhwe doesn’t know when in the last minute they got so close to each other to the point his voice turned into a whisper and he can now count jiwon’s eyelashes if he wants to. even if the older boy is shorter he always seemed taller, and only at this moment junhwe pays attention their height difference by a few centimeters.

he thinks it’s adorable the way that jiwon looks up at him, almost cross-eyed due to their proximity.

“every single word, all of it, to the very last second of the song.” he finally confesses and closes his eyes, but doesn’t stop talking, “i was so relieved when i found out it was you, junhwe. i can’t take my mind off you.”

junhwe senses his cheeks burning as jiwon looks up at him, and can only imagine how red he is right now. he feels the weight of jiwon’s hands holding the collar of his jacket and takes his hands out of his pockets, resting them on the bassist’s waist, pulling his body closer in a slow movement.

“well, i’ve always been good with words, but you managed to make them even better,” he takes a deep breath, “fuck, i feel like i’ve been living a summer romance with you for a long time, too. and it’s already autumn.”

he wishes he could see this scene from an outsider’s point of view to make sure they’re both smiling like losers right now.

“then what are you waiting for to kiss me?”

junhwe takes a second to register the image of jiwon looking down at his lips before he tilts his head slightly and closes the small gap between the two of them, capturing jiwon’s mouth in a kiss.

the older boy kisses back, tongues meeting through parted lips and junhwe is sure he has never wanted something more in his entire life.

just like everything about their relationship so far, their kiss is slow and jiwon’s hands move inside junhwe’s jacket, fingers now tracing circular shapes on his back. the action runs a shiver down the taller boy’s spine and he puts his bruised hand on jiwon’s nape, caressing the hair there and deepening the kiss, which earns him a moan so low he’s not sure if it’s real.

he has the same feeling he got when he heard the song, _his song_ , for the first time and wonders if jiwon is feeling the same as he felt when he played the song for junhwe.

damn, he was made for loving jiwon.

there’s a loud sound of a door opening with a bang and they pull apart at that, resting their foreheads together as they breathe. jiwon’s band mates (plus a cheeky chanwoo) stumble outside as if everyone was glued to the door listening to their conversation and it only takes a catcall from one of them to trigger an explosion of cheers and laughs.

junhwe is sure he hears the phrase ‘ _fucking finally_ ’ at least three times.

they turn their gazes to look at their friends, still in each other’s arms and laughing along with everyone. junhwe feels carefree for the first time in forever and doesn’t know how he got so lucky.

and just before his mind wanders to a place far away, jiwon holds his face with both hands, studying junhwe’s features with the most intense stare and junhwe has never felt so loved in his life.

he is sure he could hold and kiss jiwon, all night, always.

to the muffled sound of bon jovi playing at the venue they kiss again, and jiwon pumps his fist in the air comically, back turned to his friends, and junhwe can’t help but smile against his dork boyfriend’s lips.

they have both finally found more inspiration to write.

**Author's Note:**

> it goes like this: last year i watched sing street, wrote a band au in a few hours and never posted it. but then lola, my favorite loser, gave me an idea and made this fic a lot better. thank you so much for taking this out of the basement i. love you :(
> 
> (and also junhoe please go listen to my chemical romance i beg you)
> 
> anyways, thank you for reading and i hope you spotted all the references ♥


End file.
